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About this Dashboard

Welcome to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade's 2018 Local Elections Dashboard.

This online resource will be updated throughout the election campaign with news items, analysis on key issues, and guest blog posts by our Members. Our goal is to help highlight some of the key issues of importance for our Members and local businesses in the lead-up to Election Day on October 20.

2018 Local Elections Handbook

This website also includes content from our 2018 Local Elections Handbook, a 20-page printed booklet that sets out our priorities, and provides a framework for our commentary and analysis throughout the election campaign.

The issues and recommendations outlined in the Handbook draw on the priorities of our Members and on research conducted by our organization. Two of the important elements used to formulate this document include the Greater Vancouver Economic Scorecard 2018 (May 2018) and the VoteLocal Survey (September 2018).

Housing

By almost all measures, the Greater Vancouver region is experiencing a housing affordability crisis. It is impacting the quality of life and the availability of human capital in the region, which risks compromising economic growth and our ability to hire and retain top talent.

Transit and Transportation

In the Greater Vancouver region, transit and transportation shape how people live and influence our patterns of commercial activity. Like many growing metropolitan areas, Greater Vancouver must find ways to efficiently and sustainably move people and goods through a changing urban environment. This is a central component of quality of life, cost of living, and economic growth.

Addressing the Fiscal Setting

Balancing the public accounts is desirable at any level of government, and is a legislated requirement for municipalities in British Columbia. They have limited means to raise revenues, and therefore must practice fiscal prudence. The pressures of providing infrastructure and services for a growing city-region are substantial challenges with which local governments have to grapple.